This invention relates generally to ski devices and particularly to ski devices that are adapted to modulating the impact forces to which they are exposed.
Materials are commonly added to ski devices for the purpose of altering the impact forces to which such devices are exposed. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,861,699 (fiber reinforced plastic honeycomb core having hollow tubular members and upper and lower foam filled corrugations); U.S. Pat. No. 4,065,150 (ski body composed of a composite material of continuous reinforcing fibers embedded in a matrix of an elastomer modified plastic foam); U.S. Pat. No. 4,405,149 (ski provided internally with two or more strips of constrained viscoelastic material); U.S. Pat. No. 4,420,523 (rigid core with a number of elastomer strips reinforced with twisted fiber bundles); U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,946 (ski body provided with a stressed viscoelastic band); U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,020 (metal disk on low friction collar shifts between a pair of foam rings in a housing attached to the tip of the ski); U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,635 (damping unit of ski has viscoelastic means interposed between alternating one-end-free, one-end-secured flexible strips); U.S. Pat. No. 4,647,063 (cellular core structure). These devices have generally been found to be limited in their ability in altering such forces. They are also limited in the adjustments that can be made to their impact force altering characteristics once the ski device has been fabricated so as to make the device readily adaptable for a particular user load and use.